That afternoon, Patrick went with Count Abbott to the royal castle.


〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

'Your Majesty, the Earl of Snakes and the Earl of Abbot request to see you. What would you like to do?'

The King said to the Prime Minister,

'Another odd pairing. Did Patrick have a problem with Abbott?

'No, I have not heard of any such thing, and in the first place, there is no connection between the two families, is there?　Their territories are far apart in the north and west, and they probably only passed through each other during the earlier conflict with the tribes.''

'That's fine. Let them through.
'Yes, sir!


〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

'Your Majesty, good day to you.'
'Thank you for seeing me.'

'Oh, so?　What's wrong with you two?　Did you get in trouble?'

'No, no, we're not in trouble. Count Abbott, give the documents to His Majesty.'
'Yes, Your Majesty, please look here.
Count Abbott hands the document to Prime Minister Bendrick.
The Prime Minister hands the document to His Majesty.

The King begins to read the document,
'Which one? Hmm... what the hell⁉︎'
'Your Majesty, what's wrong with your voice?
The Prime Minister hurriedly asked.
'You should read this too!
He handed the document to the Prime Minister and looked at the two of them,

'Is this true⁉︎?
I asked.

'Yes, it's information obtained by my people. It concerns Count Snakes, so I've come to consult him first.
Hearing Abbott's words,
'That's the first thing I don't understand. Why did you go to Patrick instead of coming to me right away?　You've only known him for a short time, right?'
To the king's question, Patrick said,
'I've formed an alliance with the Abbotts to exchange information.
Patrick interjected from the side.

'An alliance?

'Yes, Your Majesty. We've formed an alliance of equals with the Snakes to exchange information.
Earl Abbott.

'Mmm, I don't know what's going on, but that's okay. We're not here about that, we're here about them. Patrick!　What are you going to do?

The king asked,

'Your Majesty, targeting not only me but also His Royal Highness Thornalice is a sign of disloyalty to you. Two days ago, I interrogated a bandit who broke into my house and he told me he was hired by Viscount Hunter-Reay.
I believe the Hunterleys are a branch of the Newgarden family?

'Mm!　You forgot to thank me for not taking his life!
The king said, clenching his fists.

'Well, that grudge seems to be directed at me, but it's outrageous to involve His Highness Thornaris in it because he's my fiancée. Well, it seems that Count Bush is the one who suggested the kidnapping. According to what I heard, he had often said that he wanted to take His Highness Thornalis as his wife?

The king looked as if he was biting down on a bitter bug,
'Hmm!　We're too far apart in age, and when I asked Sona about it, she refused in a second, so I turned her down, but she's not one to give up. Even if you're engaged to me, you still won't give up!

''The Count of Bush is definitely rebelling against Your Majesty, so I think I'll leave it to Your Majesty, what do you want to do?''

'What are you going to do about the other houses?

'As long as you give me permission, I will destroy them.
Patrick's mouth twisted into a grin.

'Prime Minister!　The houses on that list are all anti-royalist, right?'

The Prime Minister was asked with a dumbfounded expression,
'Yes, it would seem so. What a stupid thing to say.
He said.

'Go and get the Attorney General and Baron Keselowski!

The king ordered his bodyguards who were standing aside.

The guards leave the room in a hurry.